Why Did It Have To Be Her?
by Madman007
Summary: THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM SACRIFICE Remembering Mara Jade as she was in the past and present. Usually, we would give thanks to George Lucas. In this case, we owe thanks to Timothy Zahn. Thank you for Mara, Mr. Zahn. Updated with author's commentary.
1. A Brush With The Hand

**Why Did It Have To Be Her?**

**Time:** Approximately one year before the Battle of Endor.

**Location:** Halowan System. Imperial Data Storage Network.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing related to the characters or settings of Star Wars, which belong to George Lucas and Timothy Zahn.

* * *

_My god, she is stunning._

Those were his first thoughts of the woman who strode down the ramp of the Lambada shuttle. Commander Oloth Zimnaht had seen his share of beautiful women, but none like this one. That red-gold hair was the highlight of her appearance. How he could use that to his advantage? He had been with many woman. He had never been nervous around any of them. Until now. He imagined he would be considerably more nervous if it had been Lord Vader thundering down that ramp. Despite Commander Zimnaht's victory over the attack on the complex by unknown pirates, Vader would have found some fault with something Oloth did wrong.

Zimnaht straightened his uniform. He had to keep this professional. How could he with a woman who looked like this? The woman exuded a stoic manner even in the action of walking towards him. He prepared for his first encounter with the Emperor's Hand.

When she was close enough, he extended his hand in greeting. "Welcome to Halowan, Ma–"

"Erra Seng, at your service," she immediately interrupted him while ignoring his hand. She stood before him in a one-piece black tunic with intricate folds on the hips. Perfect to hide weapons inside. Her arms hung at their sides but looked as if they could be called to action within seconds. She kept a monotone voice while still sounding professional. "Your transponder codes are out of date. The communications array is too close. It should be no shorter than seven parsecs. Yours is at five. Your flight officer accepted my passcode too quickly."

Zimnaht gulped. It was all he could do to retain a look of composure. He nervously repeated, "Too quickly?"

Without missing a beat, Mara Jade, a.k.a. Erra Seng, replied, "I used a former code that was used on Bastion six months ago. Your officer should have found that and questioned it."

Zimnaht did not know why she was listing their faults already. Maybe meeting Vader would have been better. He kept on being speechless.

She then announced, "If you want this inspection to run smoothly and quietly, Commander, I suggest we talk about the preliminaries in private."

"Of course. This way." He led her to a turbolift that brought them up to the third level of the complex. As they exited, he noticed varying looks on officers and storm troopers passing by. They knew. Either that or it was mere gawking at the first female they laid eyes on in years. Once they reached his cubicle of an office, she reached to lock the door herself.

_I am inside a locked room with Mara Jade_, he fantasized to himself.

She reached inside the folds of her tunic to produce a small device. She waved it around the desk, lamp, and air vent while checking a readout. When it looked like she was satisfied, she placed the device back into her tunic. This time when she pulled back the folds, he could catch a glimpse of another object hanging on her belt. A cylindrical piece of metal. Her lightsaber!

He quickly hid his fascination as she addressed him.

"There. Now we can talk. I'm sorry for my attitude before. I wanted to keep the illusion that I was not officially here."

Zimnaht shot back. "You had to notice the looks you were getting. People here already know who you are."

"Not officially."

Zimnaht nodded and commented, "Erra Seng. You know who that sounds like."

"I know by design. Now, business. You have the leader in custody?"

"He's been detained in detention level 1. Cell double E 55."

"You changed the temp as I requested?"

"Yes, it's now a balmy 85 degrees in there. Add some sand and you'll feel like you're on Tatooine. May I ask, why did you need the temperature to go up?"

"Cold air creates a relaxed environment. Hot air keeps you on the edge. Makes answers less fictional."

Zimnaht smiled and reached on his desk to hand her a datapad. "This is more details we obtained on the attack. Typical of pirates. We're thinking Mugaari. Or something new."

She reached for the datapad and after one glance at the data she exclaimed, "No. Not Mugaari. This attack pattern isn't their style. Also, Mugaari don't just hit remote Imperial data banks. Too small."

"You have an idea what they were after?"

"From this data and what I've already received, I'd say just mere chaos. There's nothing here that they can't get at Bastion."

"Less security," Zimnaht offered.

"What you lack in security you make up in obscurity. This place is not exactly on any books. I doubt they even knew what they were hitting."

Zimnaht sat in his chair behind his desk and offered Mara to sit in the chair opposite. She refused the gesture and kept to standing. She studied the datapad more. He hesitated at his next question. "If you don't mind me asking then, why are you here?"

She looked up at him abruptly and dead-panned, "I _do_ mind you asking. However, since you know of my identity I can simply tell you that I have no idea why Palpatine sent me here."

"We have our own access to intelligence personnel who are quite capable of interrogation."

"Apparently, I was the only one who could perform the task to the Emperor's liking. How has he been so far?"

"Unresponsive. We injected him with doses of pyrodene and no change. Pyrodene is a mind altering drug that–"

"I know what it is." She went back to the datapad. "Says here you were in charge of the defensive attack."

"That is correct," Zimnaht said with an exaggerated amount of glee.

Mara gave a smug look. "Don't read too much into that. It wasn't a compliment. You used a Varati attack pattern that the Mugaari pirates would have seen right through. And you used the new TIE Interceptors. The problem with that is the Varati attack pattern calls for a greater span for set up requiring a great amount of thrust that the Interceptors are incapable of. If these pirates hadn't succumbed as quick as they did, you would have exhausted the TIE's range."

Zimnaht could only stutter in response. "I...I felt the element of surprise would catch them off guard."

"And it did. I'm just saying that it wouldn't have worked with a group with more intelligence." She paused at his sad frown. "Still, you get points for thinking outside the cube."

Zimnaht's elation was almost too grand.

She suddenly snapped, "And don't read into _that_, either. It was just a compliment. We're not going to dinner or anything. I know too much of your reputation, Commander Zimnaht."

_So_, he then thought to himself, _the Emperor's Hand _does_ use the Force_.

He quickly pushed that thought out of his mind _because_ the meaning of the thought. Force users were foreign to him simply for the fact that there were not many left in the age of the Empire. Everyone knew that Vader and the Emperor had Force powers. There was only speculation that the Emperor's Hand used the Force as well. With the sight of her lightsaber and her sixth sense instinct he had just witnessed, Zimnaht now knew it to be fact. He wondered if he was a minority in that category.

Mara interrupted him by asking, "What is this man's name?"

"On ident alone we traced his background enough to know he was called Adeki Boras."

"Too common a name to be real."

"We've checked the alias files and came up with nothing."

"Somehow I don't think you will. Didn't you say there was weapons on his ship?"

"A small armament. They're in the storage room near where we have him."

"What type?"

Zimnaht shrugged. "Blasters. Disruptors. Vibroblades of every kind. Now that you mention it, there was a strange axe weapon I've never seen."

"I'll have to take a look at it." Just then she wet her lips.

On seeing that, Zimnaht almost kicked himself. "I'm sorry. I didn't offer you any refreshments. I'm sure you're parched from your trip."

"I'm fine," she answered blankly.

"You sure? We have a great tapcaf here. I know the 'tender there and he makes a mean Fogblaster."

"Yeah, that's right. Let's fill up on alcohol before an interrogation. It'll be fun."

"Well, there's always afterwards. I mean I'm sure a lady such as yourself can get lonely from time to time."

Just then, Mara gave him the most scornful expression he had ever received from a woman. And that was saying much. In that moment, Zimnaht found the similarity between the two Emperor's assistants. Both of them used their appearance for intimidation. Where Vader had his menacing black outfit and that breathing, Mara used her beauty against her assailants and merely wore that scorned scowl. Be that as it may, Oloth Zimnaht would rather be intimidated by Mara Jade's beauty any day.

Along with the hard look, Mara snapped again. "There _is_ no afterward. Don't try your antics with me, Commander. I am not as easy to flirt with like some of your lady friends." She paused and said, "I think it's high time I meet your prisoner."

Wordlessly, Zimnaht got himself out of his chair and led Mara back to the turbolifts. He was still feeling shame about his attempt at flirting with Mara Jade. _I would have a better chance with a Jawa_, he thought.

They took the turbolift to Level 1 amidst more stares from troops and officers. The turbolift opened to a series of drab colored metal hallways with a grated floor. Zimnaht eased through the hallways as Mara followed. They approached the detention area command center, which seemed to be guarded by one officer. The officer came up to them with his attention on his superior but his eyes on Mara.

"Commander Zimnaht," he greeted.

"Corporal Dumant. Miss Erra Sing is in charge of the Safety Regulations Committee. She would like to run an inspection of the detention area."

Mara stepped forward and lifted her arm to wave it in front of the Corporal. "Actually, you will sit at your station with no knowledge of our presence."

The Corporal seemed to be taken back for a second before he repeated in monotone, "I will sit at my station with no knowledge of your presence." Corporal Dumant then did just that.

Mara turned her head slightly to give Zimnaht the go ahead. They walked past the officer at his station while he watched security vids. Dumant never looked up at them.

As they walked past cell doors, Mara said, "I'll need the holovids after we're finished here."

"Of course." Zimnaht hesitated before he asked, "Do you...do that often?"

"Only when it suits me. So, you have your proof. I _do_ use the Force."

He stopped at a particular cell door and was about to open it when Mara held his arm back.

"I would like to see the axe first, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. Down the end of the hallway."

She followed him to a dead end and he veered left. Inside a small room was a conglomerate of various weapons. There was enough to arm a small squadron. Mara looked over them unimpressed. She spotted the axe. And she went wide eyed.

"What in kriffing Hell?" she exclaimed as she reached for it. It was about a meter in length and almost all chromium. On the one end was a intricately shaped blade that looked sharp enough to cut permacrete. The handle to the blade was in the center of the cylinder. There were a series of buttons on one side of the handle. She held the weapon in her left hand. The buttons were at the mercy of her fingers with easy access. She depressed one of the buttons. Instantly, a second smaller blade ejected from the side of the handle on the right side. If she had been holding it in her right hand it would have been severed.

"What is it?" asked Zimnaht with no small sense of wonder.

"It's a regork. Made on Regoria," Mara answered casually.

Realization began to form in Zimnaht's mind. "Where Regors' left hands are smaller than their right. Why would someone like Adeki have this? Collection?"

"Why indeed? Only a few can make these and Regors don't just build them for anyone. There's something wrong with this one. I've held a regork before and this one is too light." Mara let go of the button and the smaller side blade retracted. She then held it for several silent minutes with her eyes closed.

With his fascination getting the better of him he finally muttered, "Do you sense something?"

Mara opened her eyes but kept them on the axe. "I'm not sure. Something strange is there but it doesn't feel..._right_. She shook her sight away from it and exclaimed, "I'm taking this in with me. I want to know about this."

"You do know I have to be present."

She gave her smug look at him again. "I know Imperial interrogation regulations. It would help so much if you had a room with a transparisteel window."

"It wouldn't get much use. This is our first prisoner in years."

"Point. Ok, let's go see Mr. Boros."

With a nod, Zimnaht led her back to the cell door but she stopped him again from opening it. He looked at her impatiently.

She stated, "I know you must be present, but you don't have to speak. I prefer that you do not speak. Let me do all the talking."

"By all means," was his answer. He finally reached to the controls and the cell door slid open. The heat from inside the room hit him hard. Mara entered first and Zimnaht behind her.

Slumped on the metal bench on the far side was the figure of a man dressed in tattered clothing. There was an obvious lack of fashion and cleanliness. His skin was dark olive and speckled around his body were scars of various sizes. The largest of which was on his left arm that was a thin six inches long. At some point he got creative and made the scar into a tattoo of an arrow shooting at a Nerf's Eye. He may had been slumped on the bench but was not weak. As soon as Mara and Zimnaht stepped in, he perked up at full attention.

"Please tell me this is my new cell mate," he said in a thick raspy voice.

Mara stepped forward while Zimnaht stayed in the cell's doorway. She smiled and replied, "Hardly. I am Erra Seng. And you?"

"You already know what they call me."

"I'd like to hear it from you."

This time he smiled and muttered, "Erra Seng, huh? That does sound so much like Aurra Sing."

"Makes me wonder how you would know that name."

"Everyone has heard of Aurra Sing. Makes me wonder if your parents held a grudge and named you after her."

Mara turned nasty. "Cut the chatter. I'm here to get answers."

"What do you want to know?"

"They call you Adeki?"

"Most do."

"What were you doing attacking an Imperial Data Center?"

"I'm not going to explain my actions. You may not understand."

"You would be surprised at what I can understand. I did note your use of the pronoun. Are you not the leader of the pirate group that attacked here?"

He smirked and answered, "I'm _a_ leader. Not _the_ leader."

"Well, _that's_ not evasive. Believe me when I say you will not be as ambiguous after I'm through with you."

"I'd expect nothing less."

It clearly was a reply that she had not anticipated but the look of slight surprise. "Ok, let's try direct questions. Where are you from?"

"Many places."

"Where is your home world?"

"I wish I knew."

"Do you?"

For the first time since they entered the cell, Adeki looked confused. "Do I what?"

"Do you really wish you knew about your home world? What if it was a desolate wasteland?"

Adeki shrugged. "Desert or palace, it would be still home. I take it you wouldn't want to know about your home world either."

"That's not your concern."

"Is it not?"

Just then it looked as if Mara was taken back for a second. She went on. "What were you expecting to find here on Halowan?"

"You're not ready for the answer."

"I'll decide that. Do not make me ask again."

Adeki sighed while smiling and said, "I expected to find exactly what I was called to find."

Without warning, Adeki started to breath deeper and then started to loose air. His hands grasped at his neck and was now struggling for air.

Mara held her right hand up towards him. "I told you. I do _not_ like evasive answers. Either you answer my questions directly or I'll see to it you answer them in the afterlife." She brought her arm down and he gasped for air in large gulps.

After he could breath in short breaths, he managed to remark, "I don't...know...too many...officers who can use the Force."

"I'm a special case," Mara stated.

"I'll bet you are." He coughed a few times before he requested, "Can I get some water here?"

"We'll see," Mara quickly replied. "First, my answer."

"Can I at least have something to tide me over?"

Mara gave no reply, but Zimnaht interjected with, "I have a piece of soft mai-fruit chew." The Commander ignored the icy stare he was getting from Mara.

Adeki nodded. "That'll work. Anything would be a better flavor than cold nuna."

"We're out of grilled tomo-spiced nerf steak." Zimnaht reached into his pocket and took out a piece of chew. He threw it to Adeki and it was caught.

Mara took note of how it was caught with a smirk. "Now that we have your order, my question before still remains unanswered."

Adeki popped the chew in his mouth. Between chews he said, "You should know the answer if you concentrate."

"Funny thing is I can't read your mind for something specific. I can only read your emotions."

"How are they so far?"

"Surprisingly, at ease. That can change in a heartbeat." She took a beat before saying, "I will ask one final time. Why did you attack this particular station?"

"I was to meet someone here."

Mara's dark red eyebrows raised. "An inside job. With whom were you to meet?"

"I didn't know exactly."

Mara was obviously reaching frustration. "You do realize I am more confused now. After I get confused, I get impatient. Then I get angry. Trust me, you don't want to see me angry."

His only reply was to smile at her.

Her tactics changed when she announced, "We'll come back to that." She reached behind her to pick up the axe weapon she laid by the entrance. She picked it up and held it with her left hand horizontally. "I'm more intrigued about this. I've seen your collection of arms. Most of the disruptors are illegal by Imperial regulations. That's typical of your kind. This, however, is not typical. Tell me about it."

Adeki eyed the axe as he would a long lost loved one. "I made it long ago."

"Have you had means to use it?"

Adeki squinted at her, obviously not knowing where her questioning was leading. "I have used it from time to time. Only when absolutely necessary."

Mara simply said, "Show me," and she tossed the axe towards Adeki. As an impulse reaction, Adeki caught it.

Zimnaht stepped in outraged. "Are you crazy? You just gave a prisoner a weapon!"

Mara stated calmly, "Commander, you have to notice details. What hand did the prisoner use to catch your chew and the weapon?"

Zimnaht looked at Adeki. Then he remembered when he caught the chew. The right hand.

Mara didn't wait for Zimnaht's answer. "Anyone who is brave enough to build a homemade regork would know that if they were right handed it would be nothing short of painful. Unless you enjoyed wearing prosthetic robotic hands."

Zimnaht cried, "All right, you proved he didn't build the axe. How is this information helping?"

Mara kept her eyes on Adeki and replied in confidence, "Because, that is not an axe. Is it...Jedi?"

Within the space of a few seconds, two events happened at once. Zimnaht would replay the scene in slow motion for years to come.

First, Adeki depressed two hidden buttons in the middle of the weapon. The two end pieces of the axe fell away to hit the floor. The middle piece was barely a half meter long. Adeki pressed another button. The familiar snap-hiss sound of a lightsaber igniting came to life. Adeki then set himself off the bench and made to strike Mara.

In nearly the same instant, Mara was an ungodly blur of action as she drew her lightsaber, ignited it, and brought it into a defensive block all in the same fluid motion. Adeki's attack was met with a clash with Mara's violet blade. Each handler kept their weapon tight in a holding pattern.

Mara spoke, "Seems I have revealed your secret, Adeki. If that is your name."

"I believe you have secrets of your own, Miss Seng. If _that_ is your real name."

Adeki lifted his blade to the opposite side to try to thrust but Mara was too quick at her parry. She blocked his attack with ease. Their hold was now at their waists and could see each other in full.

Zimnaht nearly fell backward into the hall upon seeing the sudden duel. He set himself again and made sure he stayed outside the range of two super heated blades of energy. He had seen an ignited lightsaber before in his youth. He had never seen two in action. That was about to change.

Mara exclaimed, "I know now why I was chosen for this mission. I thought I felt a presence when I came into this cell. And here I thought all Jedi had perished."

"Technically, I'm not a Jedi. Although, I did have a powerful teacher."

"So do I. Allow me to assure you that my skills are formidable."

"Yes. I am aware of your mentor. I believe the galaxy calls him Emperor."

That sudden piece of knowledge made Mara release her hold and begin a series of forward attacks and slashes that Adeki did well to counter. Once they were idle again, she remarked, "You're a bit rusty."

"As I said, it is a weapon I have only had the chance to use a few times. It's very hard to put back into axe form."

"I bet it is." She tried a feint to the right and then left, but he parried just in the nick of time. He looked to be a man near the age of forty and it was now showing.

Mara noted, "Short parries. Defensive counters. Even your thrusts are designed for defense. Classic Form 3. That is more archaic than the fact that you even exist. I'm curious, who was your teacher?"

"A brother of a famous Jedi during the Clone Wars. An excellent swordsman in his own right. You're a history buff. You should know the name, Drallig."

"Drallig? As in _Cin_ Drallig?"

"My grandfather. I was barely nine when he died."

"By Vader's blade if my memory serves."

"Not by Vader. You should already know who is behind that mask. A once great Jedi."

"Actually, I don't want to imagine the figure under that suit. I'd rather not know. Now, let's see how a Form 3 user deals with a Form 4."

And that's when Mara Jade let loose. She began an even faster series of thrusts and attacks that forced Adeki to retreat back into the hallway.

Zimnaht got out of the way as the duel was heading towards the exit. He could call in reinforcements, but what would be the purpose? He would only add injuries to his own troops, who were not exactly the 501st. Instead he watched Mara move like no other human female he had ever seen. Her attacks bordered on an acrobatic ballet. It took all of Adeki's might to keep up with blocks. He could not get in any attacks of his own. Mara Jade was too fast.

They dueled past the control center but poor Corporal Dumant still never looked up from his security vids. Thanks to Mara's power over him earlier, the duel was oblivious to him. They fought completely around him and drifted back into the hallway. It was obvious that Adeki was tiring. Mara used that to her advantage. She made a move to flip herself over top of Adeki to come down and land on his opposite side. When she came down, she timed a downward slash to come across his left arm.

The burn mark scorched his flesh and Adeki yelped in pain. He slumped backward against the hallway wall. Mara stood in front of him in a defensive stance. She could see he was getting weaker. She decided to ease up. "I admit that I have never seen a white blade before. That crystal must be rare."

"As is your violet. That color was said to be used by another skilled swordsman on the Jedi Council."

"And where are they now? Oh yes, they're all dead. Just like your religious Jedi."

"Do you honestly believe the Sith way is correct? You are not true Sith. Vader is Palpatine's true apprentice. You will never be as Dark as them."

"You seem to know all about me."

"I know more than you imagine..._Mara Jade_."

A flash of anger crossed her face. "How did you come by that name? There is only a select few who know it."

"Then I consider myself honored to be one of them." He coughed once and then stated, "I shall answer your earlier question now. What was it that I expected to find here on Halowan? It's simple. _You_."

For a moment, the only sound heard was the hypnotic hum of the two lightsabers. Mara seemed to take in his words. "Why should I be a concern of yours?"

Adeki gave his answer in an even tone, despite his pain. He had rehearsed this. "The Force called me to you. I had a vision about you. I had to find you and meet you."

Mara then completed his thoughts from a practical perspective. "So you hire a bunch of thugs from who knows where, dress them up as pirates, and made yourself a prisoner. All to meet me?"

Adeki retorted, "I couldn't exactly knock on your front door."

Zimnaht was behind them and exclaimed, "Wait a minute. This was all a ruse? They weren't pirates?"

Mara seemed to sound almost apologetic. "Afraid not. Not to burst your ego, Commander, but Adeki thought this through. What better place to stage a fake attack than one that is not in the public eye? If he had done this at Bastion, it would have ended up on HoloNet news." Mara seemed to consider something. "Which would mean that the Emperor knew about you. Or at least could feel you enough in the Force to send me. Which played right into your hands. I still don't understand about this vision you had."

"It was a vision of a beautiful woman with fire red hair. One with great Force potential. I do believe you fit that description."

Mara shrugged. "All but the great potential part. I couldn't feel your presence until I was inside the room with you."

"You are not using your own power. You are borrowing it from Palpatine. I have foreseen you become so much more."

Mara was interested now. "What did you see?"

"Images only. Nothing concrete. Oli Drallig used to say the future is always in motion."

Mara spat out, "Typical Jedi poodoo." She paused. "What kind of images?"

"Battles. Duels with sabers more intense than even the one we were in. By the way, you are more than formidable." He hesitated and said, "In my visions though, you were not alone."

"Palpatine?"

"No, it was someone you were fighting _with_. A man. Handsome. His features were obscured."

"Then you have the wrong woman. I work alone."

"It felt as if you had strong feelings for this man."

"Oh, now I _know_ you have the wrong woman."

Adeki struggled to stand up. "I have researched you, Mara Jade. I have found some things in your past that may be true."

Mara emphatically exclaimed, "I _have_ no past."

"You do not understand."

"There's something you don't understand." Without warning, she began attacking again. With the combination of his wounded arm and his age, he could barely keep up. She fought him backwards into the dead end.

Zimnaht stumbled back himself and had to duck into Adeki's cell to get out of their way. As they passed, he followed behind them to watch them with fascination.

Harder and harder Mara Jade struck. Her teeth gritted in anger. It made Zimnaht wonder. Was she mad at Adeki? Or her past? Adeki was not fighting. He was only defending trying to keep himself alive. His energy level was dwindling fast. Finally, Mara landed an upward slash that Adeki was too slow to block. It cost him a third of his left arm. He cried out in serious pain. He dropped his saber to the grated floor and it extinguished. He stumbled back and the dead end wall kept him from falling over.

Mara kept her blade ignited and stood before him. She looked down at the stump on his cauterized left arm and blurted, "Guess you won't be using that regork anytime soon." She allowed a beat before she said, "What you don't understand, Adeki Drallig, is the parameters of my mission. Yes, it was to interrogate. But orders from Palpatine himself included elimination if I saw fit." She paused as she gazed at his weakened and dying state. His breathing was slowing already. "With all your talk of your visions about me, your Jedi propaganda, and _especially_ for suggesting I will 'feel strongly' about someone, do you know what? I _do_ see fit."

With that, she plunged the tip of her violet blade into Adeki's heart. He grunted in response and then he was trying to say something.

Mara inched closer to him and Zimnaht did the same. Adeki was trying to get words out.

Mara demanded, "I know these will be your last words, so make them count."

Adeki took his last amount of strength to force out the words, "I...met...your...moth–" That was all he could say before he died.

The look of horror on Mara Jade at that moment was indescribable. She stayed silent as she straightened up and shut off her lightsaber with a hiss. She then used the Force to call Adeki's lightsaber into her hand.

Zimnaht could not take the suspense and he spoke to spell it out for her. "Did he say 'mother'?"

"I believe he was trying to. It's not possible. My parents died long ago."

"Did you see them die?"

"That's a morbid question. No, I did not."

"How do you know they're dead?"

"I just do, and we're leaving it at that." She gestured at the body and started to say, "You better get that body out–" She stopped when she saw what was happening to the body. Zimnaht also turned to look.

Adeki's body slowly started to fade. It became transparent. Gradually, his body was gone from existence. His tattered clothing lay in an empty pile where a human body had once been.

Both Mara and Zimnaht were dumbfounded.

Zimnaht found some words. "Did...he just...disappear?"

She also spoke slowly. "I saw what you did. I have heard of some older Jedi fading after they died, but not literally. Guess there's no cleaning up now."

Zimnaht looked back down the hallway. "What do we do now?"

Mara sighed and said exasperated, "I don't know about you, but I'm ready for that Fogblaster."


	2. Contemplation of a Death

**Why Did It Have To Be Her?**

**Part II: Contemplation of a Death**

**  
**

**Location:** Pyria System

**Time:** 34 years after the Battle of Endor

* * *

The glass containing the remaining amounts of the weak Fogblaster toppled over onto the tapcaf's dirty counter. The 'tender droid hurried over and started cleaning it up. It asked him if he wanted another drink but received no answer. Oloth Zimnaht was too stunned from his reaction to the news on the HoloNet. He stared at the picture of Mara Jade Skywalker taken from her wedding about twenty years ago. Frozen in time. He stared in disbelief. He kept repeating the crawl of words at the bottom of the screen over and over to convince himself they were real.

Mara Jade Skywalker - murdered by an unknown assailant.

His mind repeated it in a different phrase. Someone had managed to _kill_ the Emperor's Hand.

That was a feat that he thought impossible. Today and back then. The back then was roughly thirty-five years ago. He would be just beginning his thirties. He was an old man now. No ties to speak of. Alone. He was handsome in his day. The women swooned to him. Not anymore. He was now a recluse on Pyria, the epitome of nowhere. A year after the Battle of Endor, the Imperial Remnant shut down the Halowan facilities. Halowan's data banks were emptied and redirected to Bastion. Then the Yuuzhan Vong destroyed that years later.

Oloth remembered the day Mara Jade arrived at Halowan like it was the previous day. He had replayed the whole encounter inside his mind countless times. He remembered her skill against an unknown Force user. What was his name?

_Adeki! _Sometimes it scared him how his memory was still intact.

Her moves with the lightsaber were almost dance-like. He remembered her cool demeanor. He remembered that not once did she show any strong emotion. He also remembered his attempts at flirting with her. He winced at that memory. She did find someone all right. It was only the galaxy's most famous hero.

The irony of Adeki's vision was not lost on Oloth. A handsome man who she would have "strong feelings" for had to be Luke Skywalker. He always thought of Force users as strange. Adeki's vision coming true two decades later was downright eerie.

He remembered the tapcaf on Halowan where they each had a Fogblaster after her elimination of Adeki. She kept to herself as she drank in silence. He could not take his eyes off of her while he downed his drink. To this day, he always wondered how awkward that must have been for her. She had finished her drink and headed back to her shuttle. He retrieved the original vids of the security cams in the detention level and handed them to her. She had to "fix" some of the officer's minds to make them believe the prisoner was in custody already on her shuttle. Oloth knew this incident would be classified and never mentioned again.

He turned to thank her for the experience. She nonchalantly dismissed it as a flirting ploy.

"The feeling's mutual," was the last thing she said to him. He never saw her again.

He paid close attention of her whereabouts over the years. Or at least as much of her career as he could follow. After Endor, Mara Jade simply disappeared. He found out many years later that she had headed the Smuggler's Alliance. Then there was the incident with the fake Admiral Thrawn. Then came _the_ wedding.

He had not been bitter over the metaphoric joining of the Empire and the Rebellion. Truth be told, he had no real love for the Empire. He was a womanizer and they stuck him in a desk job. The Imperial Remnant even kriffed him on his pension. This was why he had to retreat to Pyria. It was a level above Tatooine. At least Pyria had lakes.

Mara Jade - _dead!_

They said she died of a foreign poison. What a cheap way for the Emperor's Hand to go. Whomever killed her could not fight her in battle so they shot her with a poison dart? He hoped they didn't kill her murderer once they were caught. A lifelong torturing experience would do just fine. Death would be too good.

It wasn't as if Oloth didn't think of Death. It happened all around the galaxy. He had soldiers he befriended at Carida Academy who had perished in both Death Star destructions. His own parents died when he was barely walking as a child. Yet, he showed no emotion over their deaths. Why was Mara's death affecting him this way? Everyone died eventually. Still, there seemed to be a mythic immortality in Mara Jade. She had led three wholly different lives.

Yes, death happened. Why did it have to happen to _her_?

He called to the 'tender droid for another Fogblaster. He asked for a double to make it more like the kind he got on Halowan. He had to get his mind off Mara Jade. When he paid more attention to the others around the tapcaf, he realized that wasn't possible.

He overheard a Devaronian across the bar from him mention the name Mara Jade. He was telling a story to a group of patrons, as Devaronians will do, without regard to it being truth. Oloth focused on his tale.

"So, my partner and I took her to the General. And you remember how Duro was run in those days. The General had put her in prison in no time. Was she kriffin' pissed. They took all her weapons, including her favorite Blas-Tech 550. State of the art. And me and my partner talked about it. I says to him, 'Mannei, this is Mara Jade they just put in the clanger.' So we made a plan to break her out. We killed the guards and we already knew the codes for her cell. We got her blaster back and we had to fight our way out of there. Stang, was she great in a firefight. We all escaped and we took her back to her ship. She was so grateful. I don't know how many times she thanked us." The Devaronian downed his drink and announced, "So, that's how I can say I saved Mara Jade. She was a piece to deal with, lemme tell ya. Shame she's gone."

After hearing this, Oloth Zimnaht chuckled loudly and shook his head.

The Devaronian noticed. "Did I say something funny, old man?"

Olothe replied, "Where do I start?"

"You think I made this up?"

"No, I think that if any of that tall tale is true than I'm a Podrace winner on Malastare."

"And what do you know of Mara Jade?"

"Enough to know that you never met her. Or at least, if you did, you sure do embellish."

"How do you figure?"

Olothe gulped down his drink and ordered another. He was going to have fun debunking his story. "Let's start with location. Duro. If you're speaking of General T'saivas, that man had almost no intelligence to begin with. But, he at least had the smarts to know that you don't imprison Mara Jade without consequences. Second; the weapon. Mara Jade had no favorite weapon. She used whatever weapon that was called for in any particular mission. And even if she did have one weapon that she favored, she would choose her lightsaber over something as erratic as a 'state of the art' blaster. Which brings me to another missing piece of Mara Jade you forgot to mention. Jade had the Force. She could have gotten out of that prison with no help from anyone. And she could have done it without firing a single shot or swinging a blade." Oloth took a moment to down a gulp of his drink. He was ignoring the look of contempt he was getting from the Devaronian . He swore he could see the creature's horns twitch. At the same time, the others in the tapcaf were nodding in approval on his assessment of Mara Jade.

Oloth wanted to finish before he got too tanked. "And the last thing that tells me you never met Jade is the fact that you said she was grateful. The Emperor's Hand _never_ would have said thanks. She did her job and finished her missions efficiently. It didn't matter what side she was on. So, no, I don't believe you dealt with Mara Jade. _Nobody_ dealt with the Emperor's Hand. _She_ dealt with _you_. Take it from someone who _has_ met her and watched her in action." Oloth paused as it strained him to say his next words. "May she rest in peace."

At that moment, a Twi'lek sitting nearby the Devaronian raised his drink and announced to the crowd, "To Mara Jade." Another Twi'lek next to the first did the same. Then another patron repeated it. Then another. And another. Soon, the whole tapcaf prepared for the toast. Even the Devaronian raised his glass and repeated it, despite his look of defeat.

Finally, Oloth Zimnaht raised his own drink. "To Mara Jade Skywalker. Emperor's Hand. Jedi. Mother. And one hell of a damn woman."

**THE END**

* * *

**Author's note: **I hope you have figured out the name of my original character is a cryptic spelling of Mara Jade's creator. If not...surprise! Now, I want to say something seriously on why I wrote this. When I first heard about who was supposed to die in _Sacrifice_, I denied it. When the spoilers slowly became fact, I still couldn't believe it. There was a hole left inside me. Mara was probably my second favorite Star Wars character behind Vader. And she had ZERO screen time in the movies. (She's not in the new special edition of ROTJ; I've looked. But "Arica" does have a part in the radio drama!) There was so much complexity and conflict in her, but also a dangerous beauty to the way she talked and moved. I would take a new SW novel and sometimes skip forward until I saw "Mara". It dawned on me why was this affecting me so much? My stepfather died seven years ago of cancer and my grandmother four years after him the same way. Neither time did their deaths make me feel this way. Maybe it's because neither went suddenly. It was almost a relief to know they were not in pain anymore. But, why would a death of a fictional character move me and apparently many others this way? (By the way, for those who think that is strange and Mara Jade was just another character...move along...move along.)

This story is my own tribute. I wanted to show her first as the bad ass she was as The Emperor's Hand. And I wanted to show how her death wouldn't have just been felt by those directly around her. She has fans - in the Star Wars universe and ours. There are more stories to be told. I've already been thinking of another involving Luke and Mara in another adventure. Coming soon!


End file.
